NOVEL WEB Chapter 114: Werewolf
"10 out of 10 for this spectacular entrance."
I whispered to Marie as Professor Snape arrived in front of the students.
"Open your books to page 54." (I have no idea of the actual page.)
"Professor, where is Professor Lupin?"
"We raise our hand before speaking, Miss Chang. But to answer your question, Professor Lupin was not feeling well today, so I will be giving the lecture in his place. It is quite remarkable that you are all in fourth year, despite the glaring deficiencies in this subject."
Page 54 was about werewolves.
"Professor, this is not the chapter we stopped at."
"Do you truly believe you are at a level where you'll study elemental creatures? You are in Defense Against the Dark Arts. In this class, you will learn to fight dark forces—not just creatures that can be defeated with a simple charm."
It is true that having two absent teachers has caused us a lot of trouble, to the point where we have to take the same classes as the third years, but with a bit more focus on magical creatures.
"Now, can someone tell me the difference between an Animagus and a werewolf?"
Normally, this question is quite easy, even for a Muggle-born who knows nothing about magic.
Why do I say that? Because werewolves are a "myth" well-known to Muggles, so one should deduce that when talking about differences, either the transformation is into something else, or it doesn't rely on the full moon.
I raised my hand, but Professor Snape ignored both mine and Marie's.
"No one? I must say I expected nothing from you, yet you still managed to disappoint me."
It is true that it is shocking not to know the difference, especially considering that all wizards are well aware of it, given their widespread prejudice against werewolves.
"Professor, Marie and Evelyn know the answer, so stop ignoring them."
"Minus five points to Ravenclaw for attempting to give me orders, Miss Chang."
Some wanted to react, but I told them it was not worth it.
At the end of the class, the professor assigned us an essay of one scroll on everything we know about werewolves and Animagi.
In the evening, in the Room of Requirement, Hermione arrived a little late and told us about the disastrous class with Professor Snape.
Apparently, the third-year Gryffindors are more assertive than we are.
"I don't understand why he's teaching us about werewolves."
Hermione wondered aloud, and I was sure she could spend hours trying to decipher Professor Snape's intentions.
"It might be because he wants us to study very dangerous creatures or because we are too far behind."
"Or maybe it's because it was a full moon last night."
"It's possible, Marie."
Suddenly, I understood what Marie had said. Why was I so slow to grasp the meaning of her words?
Oh yes, it's true—when I consider a dozen hypotheses, I rarely think to test them directly.
Hermione seemed to react as quickly as I did and pulled out a calendar with the moon phases.
"Hermione, how did Professor Lupin look the day you were on the Hogwarts Express?"
"He looked tired and slept most of the time."
"And didn't you mention that Harry thought Professor Snape was trying to poison him?"
"Yes, he gave him a potion."
Looking at the calendar, I was almost certain that the potion was aconite.
"A werewolf needs a lot of sleep after a full moon, even if they take aconite."
It seemed likely that Professor Lupin was a werewolf.
"Yet he doesn't seem like what I've read about werewolves."
"That's normal. What you read was from a wizard's perspective. Apart from an alpha like Greyback, most werewolves have no wolfish consciousness and suffer greatly before and after a full moon."
In my research on ancient magic, I came across a group of werewolves who manage to live normal lives, but I know of their pain and am trying to make their transformations as painless as possible.